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Welcome to Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas Event!

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

You guys know my love for cheap but thoughtful gifts!  With 5 kiddos, and a huge family I am always trying to find awesome gift ideas that don’t break the bank.

I love photo gifts!  This is a super simple, cheap and cute way to display photos.

Here is how mine turned out…

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Cost to make these babies??

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Woohoo!  It makes a great gift for friends and family.

And, here is how I made it!

$3 Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

For those of you that don’t have a saw…  This is one you need to have.  You can EASILY cut this project and so many others on our site using this.  Cheap and easy… Promise!

That’s a stocking stuffer gals!  Come on… You will thank me!  This is a perfect ‘craft’ saw, and you would be shocked at how many projects you can do with it!

You can also have the hardware store cut the wood for you.  HD has a handsaw just like this one in the wood section at all times.

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

If you don’t have a drill, you can also use a hammer and a small nail.  Just hammer the nail into where you want your holes. and then remove the nail using the other end of the hammer.  Voila!

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

That’s it for the building part!

Now you are ready for the FREE printables!

I decided to give you guys some options for these!  I made 4 to choose from.  Whether you are making this as a gift to someone else or for yourself, I got you covered! 😉

To print these, just click the photo for each one.  Once it opens, just click print from your top browser bar.

I printed mine on cream colored 8.5×11 cardstock.  I like the weight of cardstock paper for this project, and you can get it super cheap at any craft store.

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

I chose to use upholstery tacks to hold my paper in place.  These can be found at any craft or hardware store.  They are really cheap and cute.

You can also find some HERE on Amazon!Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

They are also really easy to remove by using a small screwdriver under the head of the nail.  This makes changing out your printable really easy!

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Your final step is adding photos!  I like to print my photos out on photo paper at home.  This saves me lots of money, and keeps me from dragging my 5 kiddos to Walmart to pick up photos… Win win!

I cut my photos out, put them on the display and I was DONE.  So quick, so cheap, but still so cute!  My kind of project!  And… Did I mention I made these babies for…

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Yah… Just making sure!

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

I would love for you to share this $3 gift with your friends and PIN it of course!!

We have teamed up with some fabulous bloggers to bring you this 12 Days Of Christmas!  Make sure to check them all out, and be looking for today’s great giveaway!

Photo Display Gift & Free PrintablesPhoto Display Gift & Free PrintablesPhoto Display Gift & Free PrintablesPhoto Display Gift & Free Printables

A little bit more about the Shanty Sisters…

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

 

We are 2 sisters sharing how we transform our homes on a budget!  With 8 kiddos between the two of us, we put every naptime to good use ;-)!

From building projects like this $65 farmhouse table

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

To transforming things like this $15 mirror made from a Walmart mirror

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

And even offering free printables like our latest free alphabet banner!

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

You can also follow us on Facebook!

And keep up with all of our posts by following us on Pinterest!

Photo Display Gift & Free Printables

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38 Comments

  1. Hey there!! I am getting ready to make these but wanted to know what size did you print the photos that go on top of the wood?

  2. wow!! You are simply amazing !! I liked your idea so much that I can’t wait to make my own photo holder!! Best regards from Majorca!!

  3. I just saw my comment on here from two years ago and had update it. I ended up making these that Christmas, as well as different versions for last year. So far I’ve done these with the following: Family, Love, Names, and one with just designs. I’d sort of addicted and now everyone in my immediate circle has one, lol. Great, super cheap, thoughtful gift for sure!

  4. How did you guys make the papers to nail on..I want to custom make mine but I can’t figure out how to do them? Please help!

  5. so I made the mistake of cutting my boards into 8 inches instead of 12 inches. Goodness! Is there any option to edit the printables to fit? I am terrible using Adobe. Thanks in advance!

  6. Here is my version with the wording on card stock but mod podged on, and I added some burlap flowers

    1. These are too cute! what size boards and printables did you use? I cut my boards too short and don’t know how to edit the size of the cute printables. Hoping you had some tips! Thanks!

  7. Love, love, love projects like this that are quick and easy, and still adorable. I’ve cut everything, and just need to stain and piece together. I printed on cardstock, and for an added touch, I’ll cover with a 4″x11″ piece of .08″ thick plexi – will pre-drill holes for nails. The upholstery nails are plenty long enough, so I don’t foresee any issues. Custom cuts of plexi can be costly. One online company wanted to charge $9.50 per 4″x11″ sheet! I bought an 18″x24″ piece at Lowe’s for ~$8.50, and they cut 8 sheets from it. I didn’t expect them to cut anything, but they offered to when I asked whether they had plexi scoring tools. Now that’s customer service! Priced everything out, and even with plexi, they’re just a few
    pennies over $3 each. Thank you, ladies!!! You are awesome, and have inspired me to be one with the power tools.

  8. Here r the ones I made 4 my boys and a friends boys teacher gifts this year! I made 8 of these and they were a huge hit!!! Thank u Shanty-2-Chic!!! 🙂

  9. I am trying to print these but the letters are at the edge of the paper, is there a way to print with enough blank paper at the edge for the tacks?? I’ve tried looking for a way to change the margins but so far am having no luck. Thanks

    1. I’m having the same problem. One thing I found was if in the print box I select “shrink to printable area” it gave me a little more margin but definitely not as much as is shown in the picture. It seems to have a larger margin one one side the other?

      1. The fix that I found worked best was to download or open in Adobe Reader. Once open, choose print, then where it says “page sizing and handling” choose poster. You can adjust the “tile scale” to 80-90%, depending on what you like, this will give you room on the side. I also changed it to “landscape” in properties to print. Hopefully this helps someone!! =)

  10. Love this project and pretty much anything you girls make! Question: what size prints did you use to make the arrangement like the one you have? Can’t wait to make mine for gifts this year!!

  11. I made one of these last weekend and it turned out great! I couldn’t find the ornament hooks since it’s February, so I used place card holders and cut off the bottom with wire cutters. That worked beautifully!

  12. How many coats of the stain were used for this project? I’m absoluty making these! Beautiful idea and thanks for sharing!

  13. Great easy gift idea. Quick question…how do you keep your cardstock from puckering once it’s been nailed to your board. I made the father’s day photo boards, and my photo eventually puckered out after being nailed to the board even though I tried so hard to keep it tight. Thanks for sharing this.

      1. I tried to use ModPodge with mine. Unfortunately, if you use an inkjet printer, the ink will bleed. I don’t know if a laserjet would have the same issues. I was finally able to use a glue stick to hold the cardstock firmly in place before tacking the corners. That seemed to prevent the puckering for me.

    1. The cardstock puckers terribly no matter how tight it is when you tack it to the wood 🙁 Other than that, they look great. I wish I had seen this comment prior to making 27 of them

      1. I’m not sure what’s going on girls… Mine is still sitting perfectly like I made it?? Wish I could offer more help, but I make things like this with cardstock quite a bit, and have never run into this problem.

        1. Possibly the cardstock? I got mine at Michael’s because our Hobby Lobby hasn’t opened yet. I thought it was good quality stock, the better of what they offered there
          If you think of a way to salvage these, I’m open to ideas!
          Thanks!

          1. Maybe try reprinting on photo paper?? Hopefully that wouldn’t do the same! Just use a small flat screwdriver to pop your nails out and put them back in.

  14. I just love this gift idea…thoughtful and doesn’t break the bank! This would make terrific gifts for co-workers or neighbors too. I could put the family name on the paper. Cute, cute, cute! I’m pinning now. 🙂